Memoirs
or A Quick Glance
at my various travels
and my sojourn in the Creek Nation

(Kindly contributed by William C. Bell)

FIRST PART

Departure from France, and my arrival among the Creeks

THERE ARE extant few, or perhaps no true accounts at all of the
savage tribes which inhabit North America. The relations the Europeans
have had with these peoples have always been so slight that they have not
enabled them to become acquainted with the manners, habits, and the way
of living of these savages. The barbaric nature attributed to them terrified
those who would have had some desire to go among them. All communications
were limited to barter trade which took place on the frontier-lines. Chance
and, I must admit, thoughtless youth, having given me this advantage, which
few people have enjoyed, I thought that the public would be grateful to
me for giving it the details of my travels over the surface of that vast
part of the continent. I regret that the circumstance under which I am writing
it does not permit me to give to it all the attention and time that such
a work would require. I shall be satisfied with relating briefly the most
interesting events. If I were to write the story of my life, I would begin
with that of my earliest youth; but I am writing only the story of my travels,
and I begin it at the time I left France, to return here only after
an absence of twenty years.

Chapter 1:
Departure from France

Some time during January 1775, I found in Dunkirk a ship which
was sailing to Norway; my first intention being to travel in the
north of Europe, I availed myself of that opportunity. Arriving at
Bergen, I found another ship which was leaving for the United
States of America, and which gave me the idea of going over there. Since
my purpose was to travel, the direction was absolutely immaterial to me,
for I had no determined goal. I embarked therefore on this ship, and disembarked
at New London, in Connecticut, in the month of April in the
same year. From this town, of which I shall speak at greater length in the
second part of this work, as well as of all those that I only went through
before arriving in the Creek Nation, I went to Norege then
to Providence, Newport, and from there to Boston. I found
nothing remarkable on this journey which was about sixty leagues long, except
the antipathy which prevails between the inhabitants of the North and
those of the South.

Chapter 2:
Arrival in the United States

I remained a few days in Boston in order to rest, and then left
there to go to New Yorckand from there to Jarsey situated
on the Delaware which flows under the walls of Philadelphia.
I left Jarsey and went through Philadelphia and arrived at
Baltimore; from there I proceeded to Yorktown in Virginia
(it is the place where Lord Cornwallis was taken prisoner by the
combined French and American armies); from Yorktown
I traveled through the two Carolinas and arrived at Savanha in
Georgia. This state was at that time sparsely settled, but it is
considerably inhabited today. I shall tell the reason for it in the second
part of my work. From Savanha I went up the river of the same name
as far as Augusta, an important town today, but which was then only
a very small village, and which I left to proceed to Orangeburg in
the hinterland of South Carolina. I left that town and went ten leagues
to the east on the Tougoulou road where I was astonished to find
vineyards in rather large numbers cultivated in the French manner. I learned
that it was a man from Bordeaux, former chevalier de St.-Louis,
who, having experienced misfortune and disgrace in France, had decided
to go over to the West Indies with his family, and had come to settle down
in this part of the New World: this man's name was Monsieur de
St. Pierre; his name, and the fact I mention here, must be known in
Bordeaux. His being a Frenchman made it easy for him to obtain from
the savages who live in this section, and who are Savanogues, land
on which he planted grapevines; but the wine he makes, and which I tasted,
is hardly better than the worst French wine.

During my travels in the hinterland of the United States, I visited
Tougoulou, Franklin, and other places inhabited by Anglo-Americans
of a peculiar sort, called Gaugeurs; I found them all one-eyed, I
shall tell the reason for it in the second part of my story. I traveled
afterwards through the thirteen states of the United States, which
now number sixteen with the addition of Quintok and Cumberland
to the union; I found there only feelings of hatred and enmity. These
people were divided into two parties, constantly infuriated with each other.
One of these is called Wigth [Whig] and the other is called Toris.
The crimes occasioned every day by this party spirit made me doubt that
there could exist on earth men more wicked than these inhabitants. I informed
them of my doubts in this respect, and they answered me that in the hinterland
of the United States, by going one hundred or one hundred and fifty
leagues farther into the territory, one could find savage tribes who carried
barbarity to the point of putting to death by a slow fire and eating all
Europeans they could seize.

The picture they painted of these people appeared so overdrawn that it
gave me the idea of making my way to them at the risk of being roasted and
eaten. The repugnance I felt living in the midst of these Anglo-Americans
lessened considerably in my eyes the dangers of such a journey; in addition
to that the desire to see savages and regions which seemed to be absolutely
unknown immediately decided me. To enable me to reach the country of these
cannibals, whose true character was far from being known, and whose geographic
position was but vaguely indicated to me, I bought a compass in order to
be sure of always going in the right direction. I also bought three horses,
one of which was to carry me, the second was for my servant, and the third
carried the equipment and provisions.

Chapter 3:
Departure from the United States

I set out therefore from the vicinity of Tugaloo, and plunged
into an immense forest where no roads were laid out. After traveling two
days, my servant, who was a German, informed me that he was not disposed
to follow me farther, and asked my permission to turn back; I gave him some
provisions, and continued on my way alone. I admit that the journey seemed
then to be much more difficult, but I remained no less disposed to continue
it. I went on therefore in the same direction, always hoping to meet some
tribes. I traveled on in this manner for two weeks, sleeping in the forest
and living on my provisions; but at the end of that period they were completely
consumed. I did not feel a great deal of anxiety about it, because in the
immense forests that I was obliged to go through, I found many fruit
trees. I admit, however, that when I found myself compelled to eat these
wild fruits and acorns, I began to experience some regret
for having ventured forth in this manner without destination and without
any knowledge of the country through which I was traveling. I believed nevertheless
that I had gone too far to retrace my steps, and each day was making it
more and more impossible to go back. Ready for anything that could happen
to me, I traveled on for two more weeks, which were very difficult, because
I was obliged to swim across, on my horses, several rivers, such as the
Big and the Little Ocani, the Holtomao River and a
few others which were smaller. At the end of this period, I came to a river
called by the English Flint-River, or river of gun-flints. Exhausted
by hunger as much as by fatigue, and not knowing whether I was far from
or near some habitations, I stopped there for a few hours to rest. After
eating a little of my bad food, I set out again, and I traveled forty more
leagues; I stopped by a beautiful spring and gave way to reflexions which
were in no way cheerful or reassuring. My stomach, which for two weeks had
been digesting only wild fruits and acorns, was giving me acute pains, and
made me aware of the necessity of taking more substantial food. Only by
hunting could I provide myself with it; but I could not avail myself of
this facility, because I had made provisions of this kind only for my personal
safety, and furthermore, I could not leave my horses, because it would have
been impossible for me to find them again. In short, I believe there are
few situations in human life more frightful than the one I was in at that
time. All my reflexions led me to the decision to kill one of my horses
in order to eat him, and I was getting ready to do so, when I heard noises
rather near me. I was trying to ascertain from where they could be coming,
when I caught sight of two savages, two women, and a Negro boy of
about twelve years of age. If on seeing me they did not feel a satisfaction
as great as that which their presence gave me, it was not difficult for
me to perceive that their astonishment was as great as mine; and since I
was armed with my gun, they did not dare approach. I laid it down on the
ground and made signs which reassured them. The one who advanced first toward
me was an old man whose venerable countenance, and the respect paid him
by the others, made me believe that he might be their father, and indeed
he was. He spoke to me in his language which I did not understand; but I
guessed, by his gestures, that he was asking me where I came from, and who
I was. I pronounced in my reply to him the word French, and I perceived
with a satisfaction that would be difficult for me to express, that this
word was not unknown to him, for he advanced immediately toward me smiling,
and took me by my hand.* Although I was far from suspecting what
he wanted to do with me, my condition was too sad to permit reflexion; for
I did not know any dangers greater than the hunger which was tormenting
me. I therefore put myself entirely in their hands, resolved to do everything
that they would require me to do. The old man was saying many things I did
not understand, but which appeared to please a great deal the two women
and the savage who accompanied him, and who took upon themselves the task
of leading my horses with the equipment. We were traveling toward the west
when, suddenly, at a signal he gave, the young Negro began to run
with astonishing speed. Then this old man asked me by signs for what purpose
I was going to use my gun that I was holding in my hand when he had caught
sight

* One will not be astonished at the welcome given me by this old
man, and at the joy manifested by him at the word French, that he
heard me pronounce, when one is informed that this man had been rewarded
with a significant medal by the governor of Louisiana when
the French were there. of me. I made him understand that being in
such great need of food, I was preparing to kill one of my horses in order
to eat it. Then he immediately pointed at the sun, and drew a short line,
to make me understand that when that heavenly body had traveled that little
distance, we would be in his village.

Chapter 4:
Arrival among the Creeks

After about an hour of travel, which seemed a century to me, so tormented
was I by the need to eat, we came to a river called Chactas-ou-Guy,
on the other side of which is the town of Coetas. It was there that
my guide lived. The young Negro who had gone on ahead had received
the order to prepare canoes for our crossing; thus we found him waiting
for us with several of his comrades. When we had arrived at the old man's
house, he made me sit down and offered me a pipe of tobacco and a
light. Although this was not the exercise which seemed the most urgent to
me in my present state, nevertheless I took the pipe which I smoked, and
which did me much good. When I had finished, he gave me a slice of watermelon
of which he ate a similar slice, and did not want me to take any more
of it, judging by the manner in which I dispatched it, that if he were to
let me have my way, I would certainly do harm to myself. I had to be satisfied
with this small portion.

While we were eating our melon, I heard a drum beating
a short distance from us; I showed surprise, and he made me understand that
it was an assembly which was going to be held, and offered to take me there.
Since I did not understand anything he was telling me, I made up my mind
to accept everything he wished. The hospitable manner in which he had received
me had dispelled all my fears; and although he wore clothes which appeared
extraordinary to me, I doubted that I had already arrived among one of the
savage tribes where I was to be roasted and eaten. It was, however, at this
time, that is to say, in the month of May 1776, seventeen months after my
departure from France, that I arrived in the Creek Nation
where I remained twenty years, and of which I became the great war chief,
as will be seen by what follows; for that man was one of the old men of
the Creek Nation. From the time I left the country of the Anglo-Americans
until my arrival in the town of Coetas, I had traveled for thirty-two
days, although the distance was only one hundred leagues. I had increased
them a great deal by my ignorance of the right way. I arrived precisely
at the time when the chiefs of the nation are accustomed to assembling each
year to hold their grand council. When the assembly had formed, my host
went to inform it that he had a Frenchman in his home; the deliberations
not having begun, it was decided to receive me, and the old man*
was invited to escort me there. He came indeed to get me, and escorted me
to the assembly where he introduced me to a man who was seated in the center
on a bearskin, and who appeared to me to be the chief. The color of his
skin was much less dark than that of the others, and he was not much older
than I. He invited me, by a gesture, to sit down by him on the same bearskin,
and shook hands with me as an indication of friendship. I spoke a few words
to him in French; but seeing that he did not understand me, I spoke
bad English to him which he understood immediately because he spoke
that language perfectly. This man, in a word, was Alexandre Maguilvray,
about whom so much has been written in the newspapers of North America,
and even of England. Although he was at that time only an estechacko,
that is to say well-beloved,** he had come to this town to preside
over the grand council.

* Although my host was not
a chief of the nation, he could enter the great cabin of the assembly in
his capacity of an old man.

** McGillivray was made head
chief only when I was made great war chief.

My status as a foreigner not permitting me to remain in the assembly,
my host came to get me again in order to take me to his home. When we arrived
there, he gave me a glass of tafia which I drank, and then had us
served an excellent meal to which I did great honor, because I had not had
anything like it for a long time. Since I could understand only his gestures,
he had the consideration to invite to dine with us McGillivray, who
was then my interpreter. I spoke English well enough to make myself
understood, and it was a great satisfaction for McGillivray, who
himself spoke the savage tongue very little.* During our dinner we had a
long conversation in which I made known to him that my intention was to
remain some time at least in the nation. He expressed to me then the desire
to have me with him; he even wanted me to go immediately to the house of
his friends where he was staying; but he feared that the old man who had
given me hospitality might be offended. We agreed that when the council
had ended, I would stay in the town of Coetas only long enough to
rest, and that both of us would leave afterwards in order to go to his home;
that with regard to my horses and equipment, I could leave them with the
old man who would take care of them, and who would bring them to me when
they had rested sufficiently; that he would be very pleased to have this
opportunity to visit his chief.

I was very flattered by the offer McGillivray made me and very
inclined to accept it; but I was at the same time tormented by the fear
that my departure might distress a host to whom I was so obligated. I confided
my thoughts to McGillivray, and he took it upon himself to obtain
the old man's approval of it, and to assure him of all my gratitude. A week
after the close of the grand council, feeling completely recovered from
all my hardships, I informed McGillivray that I was ready to follow
him whenever he might think it advisable to leave. We made preparations
for our journey and set out immediately. I confess that it was not without
experiencing much regret on leaving a house which had been my first refuge
at a time when I was destitute of everything. I said goodbye to my host
and received his promise that he would come shortly afterwards to see me
in the home of the estechacko. He kept his word; and six months later
he paid me his first visit, which he renewed each year after that. He was
visiting me at the time of my departure for France, and made me promise
not to stay very long, so that he could press me once more to his heart
before dying.

* I shall tell in the second
part of my work why he spoke this language very little, although he was
an estechacko.

Chapter 5:
Departure from Coetas

McGillivray and I set out; and after four days of travel, we arrived
at a village called Little Talessy or village of the walnut trees.
Near this village, and on Coussa River, is the house that McGillivray
lived in. It is a half league from Fort Toulouse, formerly occupied
by the French, and where the village of Taskiguy stands today. This
plantation seemed beautiful to me. McGillivray had in his service
about sixty Negroes, each of whom lived in a private cabin, which
gave his place the appearance of a small village.

Chapter 6:
I settle in the Creek Nation

During our trip McGillivray did all he could to induce me to settle
in the Creek Nation. He described the mildness of manners and the
reputation that this nation had acquired, and effaced entirely the bad opinion
that the Anglo-Americans had given me of it. He told me that if I
decided to do so, he hoped that I would be willing to remain with him, and
that for this purpose he would give me one of his dwellings over which I
would be the absolute master. Such a kind welcome removed all possibility
of refusal. Moreover, we had conceived for each other an esteem already
strong enough to make it painful to part from each other.

One will not be astonished that this bond was so quickly established,
when one is informed that McGillivray, although born in the midst
of a savage nation, was far from being uncivilized himself, and had much
knowledge and intelligence. His father, who was a Scotchman, had
taught him only the English language; so that he spoke very poorly
that of the people among whom he lived, and of whom he had become one of
the chiefs. What made learning the Creek language difficult for him
was the fact that this nation is composed of the union of ten to twelve
different nations which came to unite with it, as I shall tell in the second
part of my work, and all of which have kept their particular languages.
The consequence of that was that McGillivray experienced a real satisfaction
in having as his companion a man with whom he could associate freely and
converse about the manners and habits of the peoples of Europe, of
whom he had only slight knowledge. For my own part, gratitude made it my
duty to comply with the wishes of a man who was offering me, with such rare
sincerity and disinterestedness, a part of what he possessed. I was discovering,
moreover, so obvious a difference between the manner of living of these
people who were called savages, and that of the Anglo-Americans who
profess to be civilized, that I was induced, in spite of myself, to accept
McGillivray's offer. I took up my residence, therefore, May I5, I
776, in his house which his friendship soon made me consider as my own.
I had been settled for only a short time when an opportunity presented itself
to give to McGillivray, as well as to the whole Creek Nation,
proof of my gratitude and of my complete devotion to its interests.

Chapter 7: I serve as a soldier

I was informed that a military expedition was being prepared secretly.
I asked to take part in it as a common soldier. My request, although pleasing
McGillivray considerably, was refused. They told me that I had been
in the nation too short a period of time to be given the honor of defending
the native land; that other occasions might present themselves on which
my services would be accepted. I fully perceived the prudence of this refusal,
and it increased my desire to dispel any doubt about my intentions. I repeated
my request, and it was not without difficulty that I obtained the favor
I was beseeching. I have even learned since that if I had not been French,
I would not have been admitted into the army. McGillivray's friendship
and my repeated entreaties procured for me therefore the title of soldier.
The army set out, and I easily perceived that several subordinate chiefs,
under the pretext of friendship, were commissioned to watch me. When we
were near the enemy, they kept me in sight. The chiefs having called together
the council of war to decide on the plan of campaign, the fact I was a European
gave them the desire to know my ideas in this regard. They had me called
into the council and asked me for my opinion. I refused to give it at first,
alleging that I was unacquainted with their practices and their manner of
waging war, as well as those of the enemy we were going to fight. They entreated
me so much that I yielded to their wishes. Since, at this time, they waged
war only by surprise attack and at night, and never in pitched battle, unless
they were forced to do so by the enemy, I proposed to them a plan much more
like European tactics, and which being absolutely unknown to the
enemy, had the most fortunate results. This war gave me the opportunity
to signalize my zeal and my courage in several engagements. The certainty
that I had of being watched, the title of Frenchman for which I saw
that these people had great veneration, the reputation of courage that the
French had acquired when they had possessions in this part of the
continent were for me powerful reasons for encouragement; and I declare
without vanity that I upheld the high ideal that they had conceived in this
respect. I must, however, admit now with the same frankness that the first
time I went into battle with these savages, their manner of painting their
bodies and of fighting appeared horrible to me, and that I needed a stimulant
as strong as that of the title of Frenchman in order not to be frightened.
I can assert that the different colors with which they paint their completely
naked bodies all over make them more frightful than the devils which appear
in the opera ballets. When the campaign was over, although it had not been
very important, my companions in arms, as well as the chiefs, praised me
a great deal, and showed great interest in me. I even realized by the eagerness
with which the chiefs reminded me of the advice that I had given in the
council of war that I had made great progress toward deserving their confidence.
The praise they bestowed upon me on our return was extremely pleasing to
McGillivray, who welcomed me as one of the saviors of the native
land.* He informed me that I would often have the opportunity to
give further proof of my courage and of my zeal to serve the nation, because
the Anglo-Americans and certain savage tribes were making frequent raids
in the Creek lands.

* I have traveled over a large
part of Europe and have found nowhere men as grateful and as generous
as the savages generally are.

It was not long, indeed, before I found another opportunity to increase
my influence and enhance my reputation. A second expedition was made on
which I was taken without any difficulty as a volunteer. I was fortunate
enough to render a very great service to the army which had unwisely begun
the action, and had taken up a position which the enemy had been able to
turn to its advantage. It was not without exposing myself to very great
danger that I succeeded in changing this bad arrangement of the troops and
in saving a part of the army which would have certainly been lost.

Chapter 8: I am appointed little war chief

On our return from this expedition, the war chiefs, no longer able to
doubt the genuineness of my intentions, gave a report to the council of
old men of the services I had rendered the army, and which they exaggerated
as well as the dangers I had run. They proposed at the same time to make
me little war chief without warriors. This title which flattered
my vanity as well as that of McGillivray, who had declared himself
to be my protector, was accorded me unanimously at the end of two years
of my sojourn in the nation. Consequently, I had a distinguished rank among
the warriors, and I was only looking for the opportunity to justify in the
eyes of the chiefs the confidence of which they were giving me such flattering
proof. The following year gave me this opportunity. The young warriors were
assembled for an important expedition. I presented myself with the title
which had been accorded me on my return from the last campaign, and set
out with the army. When we arrived near the enemy, the chiefs assembled
their council to determine the plan of the campaign.* My rank as
little chief gave me the right to attend it. There I gave opinions which
were approved; and the subordinate chiefs, to whom I presented new tactics,
decided that for the execution of the plans I proposed, I should take command
of the army for this campaign only. It was the third year that I had been
in the nation, and I had given so many proofs of my devotion to its interests
that I was looked upon as a native capable of filling all kinds of positions.
I accepted this one offered me all the more willingly because I had recognized
the warlike character of this people, and because I knew what they were
capable of when led by a chief who had been able to earn their confidence.*
I had already learned this through experience. I was all the more successful
in my military operations, because, as I have said previously, I was waging
war in a manner new to the enemy. Thus I finished the campaign quickly and
in the most glorious manner for the nation. When there was no longer any
enemy to fight, I led the army back, and the warriors departed each to his
home; for in time of peace there is no armed body of troops in the nation.
I spent the winter very quietly, occupying myself with hunting and traveling
through districts to make sure that they were perfectly calm. I was authorized
by the different chiefs and the council of old men to travel, in this manner,
through the whole nation. The report of the services that I had rendered
the native land had spread even to the most remote places; and wherever
I went, I received the most flattering congratulations. The chiefs who assemble
every year to hold the general council of the nation, as I have said above,
decided among themselves to give me another token of the gratitude that
the nation believed it owed me for the services I had rendered it; that
is what they did, as shall be seen.

* It should be noted that the
plans of a campaign are determined when one is near the enemy, and that
it is the head chief who is the absolute master.